Medical Certificates: Validity Periods, Age Tiers, and What Really Happens When One Expires

A Class 2 medical certificate expires in two weeks, and the next flight is already booked for the coming weekend. Is there still time to see an AME for a seamless renewal, or has that window already closed? And what actually happens to the licence if the certificate lapses before a new appointment comes through? These questions come up constantly in DACH flying clubs and forums, and the answers sit in one single, binding source: Part-MED. This article lays out the validity periods by certificate class and age, explains the difference between revalidation and renewal, and describes what really happens, legally, once a medical certificate expires.

The legal basis: Part-MED applies directly across Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Validity periods for medical certificates are not set nationally — they come from Part-MED, Annex IV of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (the “Aircrew Regulation”), specifically MED.A.045, “Validity, revalidation and renewal of medical certificates.” As an EU regulation it applies directly in every member state, with no national transposition law required. Switzerland applies Part-MED through the Switzerland–EU air transport agreement, so the same periods hold there too.

Two related rules matter for context. MED.A.030 requires a valid medical certificate matching the licence held before any licence privileges can be exercised at all. MED.A.020 additionally requires pilots to self-declare when their medical fitness deteriorates, independent of the certificate’s printed expiry date.

Validity periods at a glance: Class 1, Class 2, LAPL Medical

How long a certificate stays valid depends on its class and the pilot’s age:

Class 1

Default: 12 months — regardless of age or operation type
Reduced to 6 months from age 40, but only for holders engaged in single-pilot commercial air transport carrying passengers
Reduced to 6 months from age 60, regardless of operation type

Class 2

Under 40: 60 months — though a certificate issued before the 40th birthday still expires no later than the pilot’s 42nd birthday
40 to 50: 24 months — a certificate issued before the 50th birthday still expires no later than the 51st birthday
Over 50: 12 months

LAPL Medical

Under 40: 60 months, with the same 42nd-birthday cap as Class 2
40 or older: 24 months

One practical point worth remembering: a Class 1 certificate automatically covers the privileges of Class 2 and LAPL Medical. Anyone holding a Class 1 certificate does not need a separate Class 2 or LAPL certificate alongside it.

Revalidation vs. renewal: the distinction that actually matters

Part-MED draws a sharp line between two procedures for moving from one validity period to the next — and only one of them avoids a gap in privileges.

Revalidation: renewing on time

The examination for revalidation may take place up to 45 days before the existing certificate expires. If that window is met, the new validity period starts from the old certificate’s expiry date, not from the examination date — producing a seamless transition with no interruption to licence privileges.

A worked example makes this concrete: a pilot holding a Class 2 certificate expiring on 15 September can have the examination done as early as 1 August (45 days prior). If the appointment happens on, say, 20 August, the new validity period is still counted from the old expiry date of 15 September. The pilot loses no validity at all, even though the exam took place a full four weeks before the actual expiry date.

Renewal: after the deadline has passed

Revalidation only turns into renewal once the certificate has actually lapsed. The 45 days are not a deadline but the earliest examination date at which the new period still attaches to the old expiry date: an examination taken more than 45 days early is still a revalidation, but the new period then starts on the day of the examination — so validity is given away. Once the certificate has genuinely lapsed, a renewal examination is required, and there too the new period starts from the examination date, not retroactively. Take the same pilot from the example above: if no appointment happens until 20 September, a five-day gap opens up during which no licence privileges may be exercised at all.

The longer a certificate has lapsed, the more extensive the renewal examination becomes:

Lapsed more than 2 years: the AME or AeMC must first review the pilot’s aeromedical history before the examination
Lapsed more than 5 years: the same requirements apply as for an initial issue — a full first-time examination

In some member states, a LAPL Medical can also be issued by a general medical practitioner instead of an aviation medical examiner. This is a national discretionary rule, not a uniform practice across Germany, Austria and Switzerland — anyone planning to rely on it should confirm the local position with the relevant authority first.

What actually happens when a certificate expires?

Under MED.A.030, the privileges of a Part-FCL licence may only be exercised while holding a valid medical certificate matching that licence. Once the certificate expires, licence privileges are suspended immediately — regardless of whether the licence itself, or any ratings on it, remain otherwise valid.

A precise distinction matters here: the licence itself does not lapse or become void. What happens is a suspension of the right to exercise it, not an expiry of the licence as such. That distinction is more than semantics — it determines whether anything needs to happen to the licence itself once the certificate is renewed (in the ordinary case, nothing does). MED.A.020 adds a further layer: pilots may not exercise licence privileges once they know their medical fitness has deteriorated, independent of what the certificate’s expiry date says.

Who is responsible in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Because Part-MED is directly applicable EU law, the validity periods themselves are identical across all three countries. What differs nationally is only who issues certificates and oversees the process:

Germany: Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) — the competent authority, overseeing AMEs and AeMCs
Austria: Austro Control (Austrian Civil Aviation Authority) — the competent authority
Switzerland: Federal Office of Civil Aviation (BAZL) — the competent authority; Part-MED applies via the Switzerland–EU air transport agreement

All three authorities point back to EU Regulation 1178/2011 itself for the actual figures, rather than maintaining their own diverging national periods. Wherever a pilot is based, the binding source is the same one.

Common mistakes and misunderstandings

“My rating stays valid even if my medical expires.” Not true — exercising licence privileges is suspended the moment the medical certificate expires, regardless of the status of any ratings.
“I have until the expiry date to book the exam.” Formally that is true: the examination can be taken right up to the expiry date. The 45 days mark the earliest date, not the latest. The real risk lies elsewhere — leave it too late and the AME may have no slot free, which drops you into the more involved renewal path.
“The new validity always counts from the exam date, even with an on-time revalidation.” No — with a timely revalidation, the new validity period counts from the old expiry date, not from the actual examination date.
The 42nd/51st birthday cap gets overlooked. A certificate issued shortly before a 40th or 50th birthday does not run the full 60 or 24 months — it still ends at the 42nd or 51st birthday, whichever applies.
Assuming any general practitioner can issue a LAPL Medical. That is a national discretionary option, not a guaranteed DACH-wide practice — check with the relevant authority if in doubt.

Conclusion

The logic behind Part-MED’s validity periods is consistent, if not obvious without seeing it written down: tiered by certificate class and age, with a clear 45-day window for a seamless revalidation, and escalating requirements for renewal once that window is missed. Knowing your own expiry date and keeping the 45-day rule in view avoids both unnecessary renewal examinations and the risk of flying with suspended licence privileges without realizing it.

This is exactly where a digital logbook earns its keep: keeping track of your own expiry date and the 45-day window. The Medical Certificates area in cloudlog.aero lets pilots record issue and expiry dates per certificate class, so the age-tiered periods covered in this article don’t need to be tracked manually. A timely reminder ahead of expiry creates the window needed for a straightforward revalidation instead of a more involved renewal — without replacing a pilot’s own aeromedical care or appointment planning.

Sources

This article is provided for general information and reflects the sources consulted at the time of publication. It does not constitute legal advice or an authoritative statement by an aviation authority. The applicable laws, regulations, and the current guidance and decisions of the competent aviation authorities always take precedence.